Not so long ago, most parents had decided to buy mobiles, tabs, or laptops for their children’s personal use after a certain age. In the interim, they allowed intermittent access to their devices at their discretion. For parents, it basically meant exercising control, monitoring their safety and regulating how much time they spent online.
But the pandemic robbed parents of this discretionary choice. With work from home, online teaching and learning, giving children their own devices have become a necessity. Even preschoolers have online classes! It has been reported that the demand for desktops, laptops and tablets have increased from 1 per family to 1 per person. Suddenly the parenting world has been turned on its head and parents are seen struggling to make sense of it all.
(This article was first published in The Daily Guardian on 9 November 2020)
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